Friday, December 20
Seattle, WA
6:00 PM
University of Washington
vs
San Francisco
Photo by: Caean Couto / Red Box Pictures
Huskies Host San Francisco, Vanderbilt in 25th Husky Classic
December 18, 2019 | Women's Basketball
Washington (7-2) closes out non-conference play this weekend, hosting the 25th Husky Classic. The Huskies take on San Francisco (6-4) on Friday at 6:00 p.m. and Vanderbilt (7-3) on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. with UC Irvine (3-7) also part of the classic. All games will be streamed on GoHuskies.com. Fans can also listen to UW's games on KKNW 1150 AM, on the TuneIn App or on GoHuskies.com.
LEADING THE BREAK…
The Husky Classic
This year marks the 25th edition of the Husky Classic, which dates back to 1986. Throughout its history, Washington has welcomed some of the top teams in the country for the Classic. Despite playing a challenging schedule, the Huskies are 38-10 all-time in the classic. This will be the second season without a bracket format, though a tournament MVP and all-tournament team will still be named.
Scouting the Dons
San Francisco enters the Classic riding a four-game winning streak including taking the consolation championship at the Greater Victoria Invitational to close out November. Two of the Dons' losses have come against highly-ranked teams including a 97-71 loss to No.1 Stanford and a 73-38 setback to then No. 10 Mississippi State.
San Francisco has played numerous close games this year with half of its games decided by eight or fewer points including three of the last four wins. The Dons are 4-1 in games decided by single-digits.
Freshman guard Ioanna Krimili leads the team in scoring, averaging 15.6 ppg, while grad-transfer Mikayla Williams is averaging 14.8 points, 9.7 rebounds, 1.6 blocks and 1.0 steals per game.
All-Time Series vs San Francisco
Friday's game will be the ninth all-time meeting between the two schools with UW holding a 6-2 series edge. Washington is 2-0 in the two contests played in Seattle including an 83-56 win in the last meeting between the two on Dec. 20, 2002.
Scouting the Commodores
Vanderbilt is off to a solid start this season, winning seven of its first 10 games. The Commodores have played the bulk of their games at home this year, going 6-1 in Nashville with the lone loss a 64-51 defeat to No. 2 UConn. On the road, Vandy is just 1-2 including a pair of tough losses at the Junkaroo Jam in The Bahamas to Rutgers and Seton Hall.
Redshirt Senior Mariella Fasoula, a 6-5 forward from Greece, leads the team with 16.2 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. She has recorded five double-doubles this season including one in each of the last three games.
All-Time Series vs Vanderbilt
The two teams have met just twice before with each team winning once. The Huskies beat the Commodores 82-71 in Seattle on Dec. 6, 1997. Less than a year before, Vanderbilt got the better of Washington, winning 74-62 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Lawrence, Kansas.
Up Next
Washington opens Pac-12 play just before the start of the new year, traveling to Pullman on Sunday, December 29, for the first of two games against Washington State in the Boeing Apple Cup Series. The Huskies remain on the road after that, heading to the Bay area to open 2020 at Cal and Stanford.
Feeling Defensive
Washington's pressure defense–which helped lead the team to a strong finish last year–has been impressive so far this season. The Huskies lead the Pac-12 and rank sixth in the NCAA in turnovers forced, averaging 24.00 turnovers per game. Washington also ranks eighth in the country in steals per game (13.6), eighth in scoring defense (51.6 ppg) and sit at 11th in the NCAA in opposing field goal percentage (32.3%).
Washington has forced at least 20 turnovers in seven games this year and has recorded double-digit steals in each game including 15 or more in three games.
Turnover Machine
Earlier this season, the Huskies forced 38 turnovers against Weber State, the most by a UW team since turning over Gonzaga 38 times in 1998. It is also the most by a Pac-12 team in nearly six years. Overall, Washington has forced at least 20 turnovers in seven of nine games this season and forced 30 or more twice.
Put 'em in The 49er Club
Head Coach Jody Wynn has a defensive goal for each game: put the opponent in the "49er Club" by holding them to 49 points or less in a game. So far, the Huskies have done that five times this season including allowing just 34 points to Iona on Nov. 28–the fewest points allowed by UW since holding San Jose State to 27 points in 2010. The Huskies are 5-0 this season when holding teams under 50 points.
Washington entered the season having put just two other teams in the 49er club since Wynn took over: one in each of the past two seasons (WSU, 56-49 UW win - 1/21/18; COLO, 60-46 UW win - 2/24/19).
Overall, Washington is holding opponents to 51.6 ppg game this year–the eighth-best scoring defense in the NCAA. In addition, the Huskies are limiting opposing teams to the 11th-lowest shooting percentage (32.3%). Only one team has managed to shoot better than 40% against the Huskies this year and UW has held six teams to under 60 points, posting a perfect 6-0 record in those games. Last season, Washington held teams under 60 just nine times all season, going 8-1 in those games.
Melgoza Moving On Up
Senior Amber Melgoza moved up to 18th on the UW scoring list against Iowa and eclipsed the 1,300 point mark against Hawaii last week. She currently has 1,324 career points and needs seven points to reach Amber Hall for 17th.
Last year, Melgoza became the 28th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points with her first basket against Oregon on Jan. 27. She has amassed 1,254 points over the last two years, averaging 17.9 ppg over that stretch. (Melgoza didn't play much as a freshman, scoring just 53 total points in 25 games.)
Melgoza scored 579 points in 2018-19, the eighth-most points scored in a season in program history. She now has the 8th and 12th (2017-18) best single-season point totals in UW history. She has scored 30+ points in a game four times (third-most in program history) and also has 31 career 20+ point games. She had one of each to close out the season, scoring 21 in Washington's Pac-12 Tournament upset win over No. 11 Oregon State, then closed out the year with 32 points on 12-of-24 shooting against No. 5 Stanford.
Huskies in The National Rankings
Washington finds itself in the Top 35 in the NCAA in numerous categories through nine games:
Team:
• 6th - Turnovers Forced (24.0/game)
• 8th - Scoring Defense (51.6 oppg)
• 8th - Steals Per Game (13.6 spg)
• 11th - FG% Defense (32.3%)
• 12th - Steals (122)
• 19th - Turnover Margin (+7.1)
• 21st - Assists Per Game (18.1)
• 30th - Scoring Margin (+19.4)
• 33rd - Three-Point FG% Defense (25.8%)
Huskies in the NCAA Top 100:
• 11th - Haley Van Dyke Total Steals (32)
• 12th - Haley Van Dyke Steals Per Game (3.56)
• 37th - Darcy Rees Blocks Per Game (2.00)
• 48th - Darcy Rees Total Blocks (18)
• 56th - Missy Peterson Assist-TO Ratio (+2.20)
Van Dyke Opens Strong
Sophomore Haley Van Dyke has been impressive through the early part of the season, leading the team with 3.6 steals and 6.9 rebounds per game while ranking second in scoring at 9.7 points per game. Van Dyke, who earned her first collegiate start against Hawaii last week, currently ranks 11th in the NCAA in total steals (32) and is 12th in steals per game (3.56), leading the Pac-12 in both categories.
Van Dyke played in all 32 games last year, but averaged just 4.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 0.7 steals per game. She is already just 54 points away from her season total from last year and already has five more steals than she did all of last season.
Van Dyke recorded her first collegiate double-double against Seattle with 14 points and 12 rebounds, adding three steals and two assists. She has missed two more double-doubles by one rebound in one game and one point in another. Van Dyke opened the season with a career-high 15 points, adding nine rebounds to lead the Huskies against CSUB. Two games later, she recorded seven steals vs Weber State, the most in a game since 2015.
Spread the Scoring Around
The Huskies have six players averaging 6.7points per game and eight different players averaging better than 5.1 points per game this year. Washington has been spreading around the scoring with five different players leading the team in scoring in a game so far this year.
Block Party!
Thanks in large part to added height this season, the Huskies have already recorded 40 blocks this season: an average of 4.4 per game. That ranks 53rd in the NCAA at this point and especially solid considering UW had just 64 all of last year. Sophomore Darcy Rees leads the Pac-12 and ranks 37th in the NCAA with 2.0 blocks per game and has 18 total on the season. She had 29 all of last year.
Double-Double Your Pleasure
The Huskies had a pair of players record a double-double against Seattle, something which hadn't been done in three seasons. Mai-Loni Henson picked up her third career double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds, adding two steals, a block and an assist. Haley Van Dyke recorded her first double-double with 14 points and a career-best 12 rebounds, adding three steals and two assists.
Overall, Washington players have recorded three double-doubles this year after recording just two all of last season.
Home Away From Home
The Huskies are undefeated on the road this season, winning all three neutral site games played in Puerto Rico and beating San Diego last week in their first true road game of the year. UW won just five away from home last year and two in 2017-18.
Home, Non-Conference Success
Washington has had success in non-conference home games over the last few years, posting a 22-5 record in such games since the start of the 2016-17 season. Going back further, UW is 37-7 in non-conference home games since the 2013-14 season.
Huskies Add to Active Roster
Washington added a player to its active roster on Nov. 20, elevating Callie Lind from the practice squad. Lind, from nearby Sammamish, Wash., was the starting point guard on the Eastlake HS team which won the WIAA 4A State Championship last year. She averaged 10.0 points 4.0 assists and 2.6 steals on the season and scored 12 points with five rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks in the championship game. Lind made her Husky debut against Seattle U on Nov. 23.
Melgoza Again on Meyers-Drysdale Watch List
Senior guard Amber Melgoza has once again been named as one of 20 candidates on the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award Preseason Watch List awarded annually to the best shooting guard in NCAA DI women's basketball. The winner of the 2020 Ann Meyers Drysdale Award will be presented at The College Basketball Awards presented by Wendy's in LA on Friday, April 10, 2020, along with the other four members of the Women's Starting Five.
Huskies Nearing 850 Program Victories
Washington's win over San Diego was the 843rd win in program history. The Huskies are averaging just over 18 wins per year over 46 seasons. All-time Washington is 843-516, a .620 winning percentage.
Radio Show
Head Coach Jody Wynn joins Elise Woodward for the UW Coaches Show throughout the season at Chinook's at Fisherman's Terminal. The show is carried live on KOMO AM 1000 in Seattle at 6:00 p.m. every Monday through March 16. It can also be heard at GoHuskies.com or via the TuneIn App, available in the App Stores.
LEADING THE BREAK…
- Washington has held six of its first nine opponents under 60 points and ranks eighth in the NCAA in scoring defense (51.6 ppg). The Huskies are also limiting opponents to just 32.3% shooting from the field, which ranks 11th-best in the NCAA.
- UW leads the Pac-12 and ranks sixth in the NCAA in turnovers forced, turning teams over 24.0 times a game. The Huskies lead the conference and rank eighth nationally in steals per game (13.6).
- Washington has the NCAA's 13th-toughest overall schedule with opponents holding a .743 winning pct.
- Senior Amber Melgoza leads the team in scoring at 13.6 points per game, averaging nearly 18 points over her last four games. Melgoza scored 17 against San Diego, giving her 1,324 for her career which ranks 18th on UW's all-time scoring list. Melgoza is just six points behind Amber Hall for 17th on that list.
- Sophomore Haley Van Dyke has shined on both sides of the ball, averaging 9.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.6 steals per game–the latter two lead the team. Her 3.6 steals per game leads the Pac-12 and ranks 12th in the NCAA while her 32 steals are the 11th most in DI this season.
- Junior Missy Peterson leads the team with 33 assists (3.7 apg) and has a 2.2 assist to turnover ratio–which is eighth-best in the Pac-12. She is also averaging 9.4 ppg
- Sophomore Darcy Rees tops the Pac-12 with 18 blocks this season and ranks 35th in the NCAA with 2.0 blocks per game.
- Washington is 22-5 in non-conference home games since 2016-17 and 37-7 since 2013-14.
The Husky Classic
This year marks the 25th edition of the Husky Classic, which dates back to 1986. Throughout its history, Washington has welcomed some of the top teams in the country for the Classic. Despite playing a challenging schedule, the Huskies are 38-10 all-time in the classic. This will be the second season without a bracket format, though a tournament MVP and all-tournament team will still be named.
Scouting the Dons
San Francisco enters the Classic riding a four-game winning streak including taking the consolation championship at the Greater Victoria Invitational to close out November. Two of the Dons' losses have come against highly-ranked teams including a 97-71 loss to No.1 Stanford and a 73-38 setback to then No. 10 Mississippi State.
San Francisco has played numerous close games this year with half of its games decided by eight or fewer points including three of the last four wins. The Dons are 4-1 in games decided by single-digits.
Freshman guard Ioanna Krimili leads the team in scoring, averaging 15.6 ppg, while grad-transfer Mikayla Williams is averaging 14.8 points, 9.7 rebounds, 1.6 blocks and 1.0 steals per game.
All-Time Series vs San Francisco
Friday's game will be the ninth all-time meeting between the two schools with UW holding a 6-2 series edge. Washington is 2-0 in the two contests played in Seattle including an 83-56 win in the last meeting between the two on Dec. 20, 2002.
Scouting the Commodores
Vanderbilt is off to a solid start this season, winning seven of its first 10 games. The Commodores have played the bulk of their games at home this year, going 6-1 in Nashville with the lone loss a 64-51 defeat to No. 2 UConn. On the road, Vandy is just 1-2 including a pair of tough losses at the Junkaroo Jam in The Bahamas to Rutgers and Seton Hall.
Redshirt Senior Mariella Fasoula, a 6-5 forward from Greece, leads the team with 16.2 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. She has recorded five double-doubles this season including one in each of the last three games.
All-Time Series vs Vanderbilt
The two teams have met just twice before with each team winning once. The Huskies beat the Commodores 82-71 in Seattle on Dec. 6, 1997. Less than a year before, Vanderbilt got the better of Washington, winning 74-62 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Lawrence, Kansas.
Up Next
Washington opens Pac-12 play just before the start of the new year, traveling to Pullman on Sunday, December 29, for the first of two games against Washington State in the Boeing Apple Cup Series. The Huskies remain on the road after that, heading to the Bay area to open 2020 at Cal and Stanford.
Feeling Defensive
Washington's pressure defense–which helped lead the team to a strong finish last year–has been impressive so far this season. The Huskies lead the Pac-12 and rank sixth in the NCAA in turnovers forced, averaging 24.00 turnovers per game. Washington also ranks eighth in the country in steals per game (13.6), eighth in scoring defense (51.6 ppg) and sit at 11th in the NCAA in opposing field goal percentage (32.3%).
Washington has forced at least 20 turnovers in seven games this year and has recorded double-digit steals in each game including 15 or more in three games.
Turnover Machine
Earlier this season, the Huskies forced 38 turnovers against Weber State, the most by a UW team since turning over Gonzaga 38 times in 1998. It is also the most by a Pac-12 team in nearly six years. Overall, Washington has forced at least 20 turnovers in seven of nine games this season and forced 30 or more twice.
Put 'em in The 49er Club
Head Coach Jody Wynn has a defensive goal for each game: put the opponent in the "49er Club" by holding them to 49 points or less in a game. So far, the Huskies have done that five times this season including allowing just 34 points to Iona on Nov. 28–the fewest points allowed by UW since holding San Jose State to 27 points in 2010. The Huskies are 5-0 this season when holding teams under 50 points.
Washington entered the season having put just two other teams in the 49er club since Wynn took over: one in each of the past two seasons (WSU, 56-49 UW win - 1/21/18; COLO, 60-46 UW win - 2/24/19).
Overall, Washington is holding opponents to 51.6 ppg game this year–the eighth-best scoring defense in the NCAA. In addition, the Huskies are limiting opposing teams to the 11th-lowest shooting percentage (32.3%). Only one team has managed to shoot better than 40% against the Huskies this year and UW has held six teams to under 60 points, posting a perfect 6-0 record in those games. Last season, Washington held teams under 60 just nine times all season, going 8-1 in those games.
Melgoza Moving On Up
Senior Amber Melgoza moved up to 18th on the UW scoring list against Iowa and eclipsed the 1,300 point mark against Hawaii last week. She currently has 1,324 career points and needs seven points to reach Amber Hall for 17th.
Last year, Melgoza became the 28th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points with her first basket against Oregon on Jan. 27. She has amassed 1,254 points over the last two years, averaging 17.9 ppg over that stretch. (Melgoza didn't play much as a freshman, scoring just 53 total points in 25 games.)
Melgoza scored 579 points in 2018-19, the eighth-most points scored in a season in program history. She now has the 8th and 12th (2017-18) best single-season point totals in UW history. She has scored 30+ points in a game four times (third-most in program history) and also has 31 career 20+ point games. She had one of each to close out the season, scoring 21 in Washington's Pac-12 Tournament upset win over No. 11 Oregon State, then closed out the year with 32 points on 12-of-24 shooting against No. 5 Stanford.
Huskies in The National Rankings
Washington finds itself in the Top 35 in the NCAA in numerous categories through nine games:
Team:
• 6th - Turnovers Forced (24.0/game)
• 8th - Scoring Defense (51.6 oppg)
• 8th - Steals Per Game (13.6 spg)
• 11th - FG% Defense (32.3%)
• 12th - Steals (122)
• 19th - Turnover Margin (+7.1)
• 21st - Assists Per Game (18.1)
• 30th - Scoring Margin (+19.4)
• 33rd - Three-Point FG% Defense (25.8%)
Huskies in the NCAA Top 100:
• 11th - Haley Van Dyke Total Steals (32)
• 12th - Haley Van Dyke Steals Per Game (3.56)
• 37th - Darcy Rees Blocks Per Game (2.00)
• 48th - Darcy Rees Total Blocks (18)
• 56th - Missy Peterson Assist-TO Ratio (+2.20)
Van Dyke Opens Strong
Sophomore Haley Van Dyke has been impressive through the early part of the season, leading the team with 3.6 steals and 6.9 rebounds per game while ranking second in scoring at 9.7 points per game. Van Dyke, who earned her first collegiate start against Hawaii last week, currently ranks 11th in the NCAA in total steals (32) and is 12th in steals per game (3.56), leading the Pac-12 in both categories.
Van Dyke played in all 32 games last year, but averaged just 4.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 0.7 steals per game. She is already just 54 points away from her season total from last year and already has five more steals than she did all of last season.
Van Dyke recorded her first collegiate double-double against Seattle with 14 points and 12 rebounds, adding three steals and two assists. She has missed two more double-doubles by one rebound in one game and one point in another. Van Dyke opened the season with a career-high 15 points, adding nine rebounds to lead the Huskies against CSUB. Two games later, she recorded seven steals vs Weber State, the most in a game since 2015.
Spread the Scoring Around
The Huskies have six players averaging 6.7points per game and eight different players averaging better than 5.1 points per game this year. Washington has been spreading around the scoring with five different players leading the team in scoring in a game so far this year.
Block Party!
Thanks in large part to added height this season, the Huskies have already recorded 40 blocks this season: an average of 4.4 per game. That ranks 53rd in the NCAA at this point and especially solid considering UW had just 64 all of last year. Sophomore Darcy Rees leads the Pac-12 and ranks 37th in the NCAA with 2.0 blocks per game and has 18 total on the season. She had 29 all of last year.
Double-Double Your Pleasure
The Huskies had a pair of players record a double-double against Seattle, something which hadn't been done in three seasons. Mai-Loni Henson picked up her third career double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds, adding two steals, a block and an assist. Haley Van Dyke recorded her first double-double with 14 points and a career-best 12 rebounds, adding three steals and two assists.
Overall, Washington players have recorded three double-doubles this year after recording just two all of last season.
Home Away From Home
The Huskies are undefeated on the road this season, winning all three neutral site games played in Puerto Rico and beating San Diego last week in their first true road game of the year. UW won just five away from home last year and two in 2017-18.
Home, Non-Conference Success
Washington has had success in non-conference home games over the last few years, posting a 22-5 record in such games since the start of the 2016-17 season. Going back further, UW is 37-7 in non-conference home games since the 2013-14 season.
Huskies Add to Active Roster
Washington added a player to its active roster on Nov. 20, elevating Callie Lind from the practice squad. Lind, from nearby Sammamish, Wash., was the starting point guard on the Eastlake HS team which won the WIAA 4A State Championship last year. She averaged 10.0 points 4.0 assists and 2.6 steals on the season and scored 12 points with five rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks in the championship game. Lind made her Husky debut against Seattle U on Nov. 23.
Melgoza Again on Meyers-Drysdale Watch List
Senior guard Amber Melgoza has once again been named as one of 20 candidates on the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award Preseason Watch List awarded annually to the best shooting guard in NCAA DI women's basketball. The winner of the 2020 Ann Meyers Drysdale Award will be presented at The College Basketball Awards presented by Wendy's in LA on Friday, April 10, 2020, along with the other four members of the Women's Starting Five.
Huskies Nearing 850 Program Victories
Washington's win over San Diego was the 843rd win in program history. The Huskies are averaging just over 18 wins per year over 46 seasons. All-time Washington is 843-516, a .620 winning percentage.
Radio Show
Head Coach Jody Wynn joins Elise Woodward for the UW Coaches Show throughout the season at Chinook's at Fisherman's Terminal. The show is carried live on KOMO AM 1000 in Seattle at 6:00 p.m. every Monday through March 16. It can also be heard at GoHuskies.com or via the TuneIn App, available in the App Stores.
Players Mentioned
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